russian star in star trek

Anton Yelchin, new Star Trek's Chekov, dies in freak accident

The 27-year-old, who played Chekov in the Star Trek reboot films, dies after being pinned by his own car.

• Ed was a member of the CNET crew that won a National Magazine Award from the American Society of Magazine Editors for general excellence online. He's also edited pieces that've nabbed prizes from the Society of Professional Journalists and others.

Anton Yelchin, aka Star Trek's Pavel Chekov, arrives on the red carpet at the LA premiere of "Star Trek" in 2009. The actor died on Sunday.

Anton Yelchin, the actor known for playing Chekov in the recent series of Star Trek reboot films, died in a freak accident in Los Angeles early Sunday morning.

Left to right: Yelchin as Chekov, Chris Pine as Kirk, John Cho as Sulu.

Yelchin, 27, was killed when his

Friends found Yelchin after he failed to show up for a scheduled rehearsal, Houser said.

The Russian-born actor played Pavel Chekov in 2009's " Star Trek " and 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," as well as in " Star Trek Beyond ," due out later this year.

Yelchin's Star Trek colleagues took to Twitter on Sunday to express their sorrow, including actors John Cho and Zachary Quinto, who play Sulu and Spock, respectively, "Star Trek Beyond" director Justin Lin and "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams (by way of his production company, Bad Robot):

Update, 12:23 p.m. PT: Adds information from the LAPD; adds Cho's tweet. 12:42: Adds tweets from Lin and Quinto. 1:30: Adds Bad Robot tweet of J.J. Abrams' note.

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Sep 14, 2023

The Best of Pavel Chekov

In celebration of Walter Koenig's birthday, we're looking back at our favorite Chekov moments in The Original Series.

StarTrek.com

As a core member of James T. Kirk's crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, it's hard to believe that Ensign Pavel Chekov wasn't always there from the beginning of their five-year mission.

The ensign joined the crew with Star Trek 's second-season " Catspaw ." Actor Walter Koenig's addition to The Original Series served two primary goals. The first, creator Gene Roddenberry hoped to attract a younger audience, which resulted in Koenig sporting a Monkees-style wig to resemble the hugely popular Davy Jones. Second, he wanted Star Trek to portray a future that was a one world community, building a diverse bridge crew. The addition of a non-threatening or militaristic Russian to the core crew, during the Cold War, was culturally significant. Additionally, for Russia's advancements in the space race, it made sense to put a Russian on the bridge in the utopian vision of the 23rd Century.

To celebrate Koenig's birthday, we're looking back at our favorite Chekov scenes from The Original Series.

"The Trouble with Tribbles"

While on shore leave, Chekov and Lt. Uhura come across a cute new species, a tribble, and bring it back aboard the Enterprise . Shenanigans ensue as the tribbles reproduce at a rate faster than earthly rabbits, and the starship is suddenly overrun with tribbles, which thankfully soothes the crew with its cooing.

However, Chekov's most memorable moment involves Scotty, drinks, and an all-out brawl while at a bar on K-7. The engineer and ensign playfully chide each other over their drink of choice — scotch and vodka, respectively. Their relaxing downtime is interrupted when a Klingon baits them with insults; first, insulting Earthers by comparing them to Regulan bloodworms. Korax then hurls an insult towards their captain which riles up Chekov. Scotty tries to temper the moment, and even hands the scotch to the distracted ensign who sneers at his glass when he realizes its not his glass. But once the Klingon insults their starship, that riles Scotty to his feet, which signals to Chekov it's on where he then leaps on a table to take down a Klingon!

"Catspaw"

I can do it, sir. I'm not that green.

Pavel Chekov, "Catspaw"

While only a junior officer, Chekov manned the navigator post on the bridge, and covered Spock's station in his absence. Upon reporting his findings on the landing party's status to DeSalle in the center seat, the assistant chief engineer questions the Chekov's readings and suggests he may need help recalibrating the scanners. Incredibly thorough in his duty, the ensign cuts him off dismissing the notion that he's green and unable to do it on his own.

Do not question his ability and efficiency. Bones even chides his encyclopedic relay of examples to Kirk because "a captain requires complete information," before the doctor laments to Jim that Mr. Spock is "contaminating this boy."

"Who Mourns for Adonais?"

The junior officer never passes the moment up when it arises.

The landing party meets a humanoid on the surface of the planet Pollux IV who proclaims he's Apollo, which instantly elicits the following retort from Chekov, " And I am the czar of all the Russias! " When his captain admonishes him, he apologizes with a chuckle stating he's never met a god before.

Related: Chekov never missed the opportunity to boast about his Russian heritage. Whenever anyone on the crew remarked on a saying, invention, and/or event, he was quick to (erroneously) point out that it came from his homeland. Case in point, when Scotty tells Sulu of the Earth saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," Chekov interjects that the Russians invented.

"Spectre of the Gun"

The captain usually gets all the love stories, but not in this Season 3 opener.

The xenophobic Melkots transports the landing party consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov into their recreation of Earth's Wild West where they must relive the 1881 shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona - a "manner befitting their heritage for trespassing.'

While playing the role of Billy Claiborne, Chekov falls for a girl he meets at the bar. However, an Earp kills him because he wanted her for himself. Fortunately for the crew, they don't escalate the situation as they realize it's not real; they're projected illusions. The Melkots are impressed in their peaceful ability to not escalate the situation into a shoot-out. As a result, they return the crew to the Enterprise , including Chekov, who really did die in the earlier altercation, and agree to establishing contact with the Federation.

Koenig told StarTrek.com back in 2011 that the singular episode he enjoyed the most was this one, revealing, "It was an interesting concept mandated by economics. Our budget was very small and they didn’t have the wherewithal to be a complete, detailed Wild West town, so they did it in a sort of abstract manner, which I thought gave it some class and some style. I thought it was a very, very good decision and it worked very well."

"The Deadly Years"

Blood sample, Chekov! Marrow sample, Chekov! Skin sample, Chekov! If I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples! " "You'll live." " Oh, yes. I'll live. But I won't enjoy it.

Chekov and Sulu, "The Deadly Years"

It's not the easy being the poster boy for the fountain of youth.

When the entire landing party is ravaged by a disease that results in rapid aging, the only crewmember unaffected is Chekov. McCoy runs multiple tests to understand why the junior officer hasn't aged like everyone else. Chekov proves that, even in the 23rd Century, no one enjoys a trip to the doctor's visit. Besides, don't punish him for his boyish good looks.

Turns out, all you need is a healthy dose of adrenaline (and fear)!

Get Updates By Email

Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation Starship.

• Tickets & Showtimes
• Trending on RT

Star Trek 's Anton Yelchin Talks Chekov Accent and Klingons

...and green screen work aboard the enterprise..

In the new Star Trek movie, rebooting the franchise with all new actors playing the original Enterprise crew, Anton Yelchin is the new Chekov. Reinterpreting Walter Koenig ‘s Russian starship lieutenant required some interesting linguistic decisions on Yelchin’s part.

“The thing is about Walter Koenig was his accent was interesting,” said Yelchin. “I think I’m just going to leave it at interesting. All of us had to make the choice of what we wanted to take from the original and what we wanted to bring to it. There are certain things that I took, from the fact that he replaced every V with a W which is weird. I don’t really know where that decision came from but regardless that’s the decision that he made and I thought it was important to bring that to the character.”

If he can nail that down, Yelchin has done Chekov proud and should have free reign to do whatever else he wants with the character. “I talked to J.J. [Abrams] a lot about what he wanted. His thing was we’re not making something that’s supposed to be the old Star Trek . He’s making his own movie but there is a bit of, like, I think people want to see what they love so we’re all trying to find things that will remind people of the old characters. So it’s been interesting picking up on little things.”

As for finding opportunities to say the line “But Ceepteen, the Kleengons are approaching,” Yelchin has spent most of his time on the ship. “Chekov is just on the Enterprise. A lot of it is green screen. I mean, the Enterprise itself, J.J.’s trying to shoot as much of it as he can with out green screen, but I think a lot of space is obviously green screen — what I’m looking at while seeing the Klingon warships.”

Star Trek hits theaters Christmas 2008.

Related News

All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

The Star Trek Universe Ranked by Tomatometer

Star Trek TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming

All Zendaya Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Video Game TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Movie & TV News

Featured on rt.

April 29, 2024

April 26, 2024

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2024

Top Headlines

• 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming –
• All Zendaya Movies Ranked by Tomatometer –
• Video Game TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer –
• All Alien Movies Ranked –
• All Marvel Movies Ranked: See MCU Movies By Tomatometer –
• DC Animated Movies In Order: How to Watch 54 Original and Universe Films –

The Deliberate Flaw in Anton Yelchin’s Portrayal of Chekov’s Accent in the Star Trek Reboot

W hen the 2009 “Star Trek” film introduced a fresh, younger version of the classic crew, each character brought a distinct flavor to the ensemble. Not least among them was Anton Yelchin’s portrayal of Pavel Chekov, an homage to the original performance by Walter Koenig, yet with its own unique spin. The young crew didn’t just act on impulsive bravery; they were depicted as super-genius savants, ready to take on any challenge. Yelchin’s Chekov notably showcased his prodigious engineering talent in a memorable scene, where he successfully transports his crew mates to the Enterprise at a critical point.

Anton Yelchin had a personal connection to the character’s Russian roots, having been born in Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg) before immigrating to the United States as an infant. Surrounded by his Russian-speaking family, Yelchin had the ability to produce a genuine Russian accent with ease. Nevertheless, his choice to replicate Koenig’s exaggerated and inaccurate accent was a conscious one, highlighting his respect for the original characterization. Rather than striving for authenticity, Yelchin aimed to celebrate the character and the era of acting from the ’60s.

“I wanted it to be close to the Chekov accent […] I have no problem doing a real Russian accent, but that wouldn’t be Chekov to me. The interesting thing about it is that his accent is a Cold War stereotype of a Russian person. And when I watched the series and the films, that is what I found interesting about it. And I adjusted it, it is not entirely the same, but Walter came on set and was like ‘that sounds like me.’ And that was what was fun for me.”

The ultimate approval for Yelchin came from Walter Koenig himself, a moment that must have been profoundly reassuring for the young actor.

FAQ Section

Why didn’t anton yelchin use an accurate russian accent for his portrayal of chekov.

Anton Yelchin intentionally used an exaggerated and inaccurate Russian accent as a tribute to the original actor, Walter Koenig, and to mirror the acting style of the 1960s.

Did Anton Yelchin speak Russian?

Yes, Anton Yelchin grew up with Russian-speaking family members and was fully capable of performing an authentic Russian accent.

How did Walter Koenig react to Yelchin’s portrayal of Chekov?

Walter Koenig acknowledged that Yelchin’s rendition of the Chekov accent sounded very similar to his own, which was an indication of approval.

Anton Yelchin’s approach to playing Chekov in the “Star Trek” reboot embraced the spirit of the original character while adding his own flair. His decision to use a purposefully inaccurate accent paid respect to the character’s history and the era’s stereotype. It’s clear that his performance was not only a product of his acting skills but also of his admiration for the franchise and its legacy. The passing of the torch, as it were, from Koenig to Yelchin, represents a subtle but meaningful acknowledgement of the legacy that “Star Trek” represents for many generations of fans.

'Star Trek' star Anton Yelchin dies at 27 in freak car collision

Star Trek star Anton Yelchin has died at 27 following a tragic and strange car accident early Sunday morning in Los Angeles.

His publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed the news in a statement: "Actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a fatal traffic collision early this morning. His family requests you respect their privacy at this time."

Yelchin was pinned by his own car as he left his home in Studio City for a rehearsal, said Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Jenny Houser.

"A fatal traffic collision occurred," Houser said. "It was the result of the victim's own car rolling backward down his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick mailbox pillar and security fence.

"The victim was on his way to meet his friends for rehearsal. And when he didn’t show up, his friends went to his house, where they found him deceased by his car," Houser said. "It appeared (Yelchin) had momentarily exited his car, leaving it in the driveway."

Yelchin was trapped behind the car, "causing the trauma which led to his death."

5 essential Anton Yelchin roles

The Russian-born actor was best known for playing Chekov in the Star Trek reboot movies, including 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness. Yelchin had completed his role in  Star Trek Beyond (in theaters July 22), which is in the final editing stages.

Celebrities mourn Anton Yelchin on Twitter

He had also wrapped Thoroughbred, which finished shooting in Boston two weeks ago. The psychological thriller, expected in 2017, stars Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy and is the theatrical directorial/screenwriting debut of playwright Cory Finley.

Several weeks ago, he had been announced to co-star with Brendan Gleeson in a limited-run TV series based on Stephen King's 2014 detective novel Mr. Mercedes .

Yelchin moved to the United States when he was 6 months old with his parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, who were stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet. He told USA TODAY in 2001 that he had no desire to follow in his parents' skating footsteps.

"I hate any physical activity. I like reading and chess. I was with my dad once and fell on the back of my head. My skating career ended there at age 7," Yelchin said.

He enrolled in acting classes and at age 9 made his film debut in A Man Is Mostly Water. Pairings followed with such formidable elder actors as Robert De Niro ( 15 Minutes ), Albert Finney ( Delivering Milo ) and Morgan Freeman ( Along Came a Spider ). At 12, Yelchin appeared alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins in a critically heralded performance in  Hearts in Atlantis.

Following his first appearance as Chekov in Star Trek , Yelchin starred as young Kyle Reese in 2009's Terminator Salvation.

After voicing Clumsy Smurf in  The Smurfs film, starring in the horror remake Fright Night  and the romantic drama  Like Crazy , Yelchin was declared a "fresh face" star by USA TODAY.

"I'm drawn to that which I have not done before, that which is challenging, that which allows me to create a different kind of character," he told USA TODAY in 2011.

John Cho, who plays Sulu in the rebooted Star Trek series, tweeted his respects Sunday.

"I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist — curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins," Cho wrote. "Please send your love to Anton's family right now. They need it."

Zachary Quinto, who portrays Spock in Star Trek , called Yelchin "our dear friend, our comrade, our Anton," adding that the actor was "one of the most open and intellectually curious people I have ever had the pleasure to know."

"So enormously talented and generous of heart, wise beyond his years. And gone before his time," Quinto wrote. "All love and strength to his family at this impossible time of grief."

Watch CBS News

'Star Trek' Actor Anton Yelchin Killed By His Own Car At Age 27

June 19, 2016 / 2:28 PM EDT / CBS Boston

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new "Star Trek" films, was killed by his own car as it rolled backward down his driveway early Sunday, police and his publicist said.

The car pinned Yelchin, 27, against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence at his home in Studio City, according to Los Angeles police Officer Jenny Hosier. He had gotten out of the vehicle momentarily, but police did not say why he was behind it when it started rolling.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, Hosier said. When he didn't show up, the group came to his home and found him dead.

The freak accident tragically cuts short the promising career of an actor whom audiences were still getting to know.

Yelchin began acting as a child, taking small roles in independent films and various television shows, such as "ER," ''The Practice," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." His breakout big-screen role came opposite Anthony Hopkins in 2001's "Hearts in Atlantis."

He transitioned into teenage roles in films such as the crime thriller "Alpha Dog" and the teen comedy "Charlie Bartlett." He also played a young Kyle Reese in 2009's "Terminator Salvation."

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. He briefly flirted with skating lessons, too, before discovering that he wasn't very skilled on the ice. That led him to acting class.

"I loved the improvisation part of it the most, because it was a lot like just playing around with stuff. There was something about it that I just felt completely comfortable doing and happy doing," Yelchin told The Associated Press in 2011 while promoting the romantic drama "Like Crazy." He starred opposite Felicity Jones.

"(My father) still wanted me to apply to college and stuff, and I did," Yelchin said. "But this is what I wanted."

His biggest role to date has been in the rebooted "Star Trek" films as the heavily accented navigator Chekov, for which he was able to draw on his Russian roots. The third film in the series, "Star Trek Beyond," comes out in July.

"What's great about him is he can do anything. He's a chameleon. He can do bigger movies or smaller, more intimate ones," ''Like Crazy" director Drake Doremus told the AP in 2011. "There are a lot of people who can't, who can only do one or the other. ... That's what blows my mind."

Yelchin transitioned between the big sci-fi franchise and voicing a part for "The Smurfs." He also appeared in more eccentric and artier fare, like Jim Jarmusch's vampire film "Only Lovers Left Alive" and Jeremy Saulnier's horror thriller "Green Room," a cult favorite that came out earlier this year.

The actor's publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death and said his family requests privacy.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Featured Local Savings

More from cbs news.

Man kills wife and child in apparent double murder-suicide in Lowell, police say

Billerica community honors fallen Police Sergeant Ian Taylor with tears, memories

Fallen Billerica Police Sgt. Ian Taylor to be honored during Sunday vigil

Does Massachusetts budget need major changes amid cuts and hiring freezes?

• Mobile Site
• Staff Directory
• Advertise with Ars

Filter by topic

• Biz & IT
• Gaming & Culture

Front page layout

RIP Anton —

Star trek actor anton yelchin, 27, killed in freak accident, russian-american who played pavel chekov found crushed to death by his own car..

Tom Mendelsohn - Jun 20, 2016 12:58 pm UTC

Anton Yelchin, the Russian-American actor most famous for his portrayal of Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek movies, has been killed in an accident with his own car.

According to reports, the 27-year-old was found dead on Sunday morning, seemingly crushed between his Jeep Cherokee and a security fence at the bottom of his Los Angeles home's steep driveway.

Yelchin was born in St Petersburg to professional figure skaters who moved to the US soon after his birth. He played Chekov in 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness  and is due to appear in the third Star Trek  movie,  Star Trek Beyond ,  next month.

The actor was reportedly found by friends concerned by the fact that he hadn't shown up to a late-night rehearsal. LA police say he had just gotten out of the car when it rolled back and pinned him to his gate.

Tributes have poured in from Hollywood colleagues, including JJ Abrams, the director of the first two rebooted Star Trek films. He tweeted : "You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. Anton, you weren't here nearly long enough. Missing you..."

pic.twitter.com/q8VBJBVPK3 — Bad Robot (@bad_robot) June 19, 2016

Justin Lin, who directed the third iteration of Star Trek, also wrote of his shock at the sudden death.

Still in shock. Rest in peace, Anton. Your passion and enthusiasm will live on with everyone that had the pleasure of knowing you. — Justin Lin (@trailingjohnson) June 19, 2016

His castmate Zachary Quinto said on Instagram : "our dear friend. our comrade. our anton. one of the most open and intellectually curious people i have ever had the pleasure to know. so enormously talented and generous of heart. wise beyond his years. and gone before his time. all love and strength to his family at this impossible time of grief."

Yelchin reportedly owned a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit California Edition, and while there is currently no suggestion that this model is defective, some media reports have pointed out that other models of Jeep, which are manufactured by the Italian company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, have had to be recalled because they did not sound warnings to drivers when they got out that their vehicles had been left in neutral rather than park.

In April this year, Fiat Chrysler issued a voluntary recall to Grand Cherokees built between July 16, 2012, and December 22, 2015. The company is yet to comment on Yelchin's accident.

A report from the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said: "The affected vehicles... may not adequately warn the driver when the driver’s door is opened and the vehicle is not in PARK, allowing them to exit the vehicle while the vehicle is still in gear."

Yelchin began his career at the age of nine in the independent film  A Man Is Mostly Water . He has also appeared in many other films, including Like Crazy , Alpha Dog , Fright Night , and Along Came a Spider.

Listing image by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

reader comments

Channel ars technica.

Walter Koenig (I)

IMDbPro Starmeter See rank

• Contact info
• 1 win & 2 nominations

• 1967–1969 • 36 eps

• Post-production
• Dr. David Freedman
• Pre-production

• Anton Chekov (voice)

• Fireman Frank

• Martin Danzig

• 11 episodes

• Milton Green

• The Admiral

• Frank Mooney

• Ray Nabroski (future)

• Admiral Chekov

• Admiral Harlan Sobol

• Captain Pavel Chekov
• Professor Nicholas Timon

• Professor Timéon

• Joseph Griffin

• story consultant

• executive consulting producer
• co-producer
• consulting producer
• executive producer
• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
• September 14 , 1936
• Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Spouses Judy Levitt July 11, 1965 - December 9, 2022 (her death, 2 children)
• Children Danielle Koenig
• Parents Isadore Koenig
• Other works "Actors" play
• 1 Print Biography
• 15 Interviews
• 1 Pictorial
• 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

• Trivia His Russian accent is faked on the series, albeit his parents really were from Russia.
• Quotes I didn't watch Star Trek (1966) the first year it was on, before I was on the show. I took one look at the Styrofoam rocks and said: "There's no way I'm going to watch this!".
• Trademarks Unique Chekov accent in which he pronounces V as W, e.g. "nuclear vessels" becomes "nuclear wessels"
• How old is Walter Koenig?
• When was Walter Koenig born?
• Where was Walter Koenig born?

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

How much have you seen?

Recently viewed

The Origins of 11 Famous Star Trek Lines

By rick marshall | nov 6, 2015.

Few franchises have had the cultural impact of the various Star Trek television series and movies, and nowhere is that more evident than in the snippets of dialogue that have become a part of the American vernacular—and in some cases, found their way abroad, too. Here are 11 of the most notable Star Trek catchphrases, as well as a little more information about their origins.

1. "Live Long and Prosper"

The Vulcan greeting and the finger-separating hand gesture that accompanies it first appeared in the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series , during an episode titled “Amok Time.” Spock himself (actor Leonard Nimoy) has made no secret of the fact that the gesture and phrase were his idea, and that he based them on Orthodox Jewish blessings he remembered from his childhood. In the Jewish blessing, the position of the fingers forms the Hebrew letter “Shin,” which represents the name “Shaddai” (Almighty God). Nimoy put his own spin on the traditional gesture by holding up just one hand (instead of both) and changing up the verbal blessing slightly.

2. "Highly Illogical..."

While Spock never shied away from questioning the logic of those around him—usually Kirk—it wasn't until the second season that he took things up a notch and deemed the actions of the native inhabitants of planet Omega IV “highly illogical” in the episode titled “The Omega Glory.” Previously, it had always just been “illogical” or, in rare cases, “most illogical,” but it took a pair of natives attacking Kirk in a jail cell for Spock to pair his trademark raised-eyebrow reaction with the term “highly illogical.” The phrase would then be repeated in several more episodes, as well as the subsequent films and J.J. Abrams' reboot of the franchise.

Bonus: “Highly Illogical” was also the name of Leonard Nimoy's 1993 music album featuring several songs he recorded in the 1960s (including “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”) as well as a few new tunes.

3. "Beam Me Up, Scotty"

One of the most interesting aspects of this phrase—a request directed at Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott for transport back to the USS Enterprise—is that it was never actually uttered in any of the Star Trek television series or movies. More often than not, the command was akin to “Three to beam up” or more directly, “Beam them up,” with the closest approximation being “Beam us up, Scotty” in a few episodes of the Star Trek animated series. However, William Shatner did say this line while reading the audio version of his novel Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden .

4. "I'm A Doctor, Not A..."

Everyone knows that Dr. Leonard McCoy is not an engineer, a coal miner, or an escalator, but that never stopped him from reminding his fellow crew members. The first time DeForest Kelley uttered his famous catchphrase as we know it was in a first-season episode titled “The Devil in the Dark.” In that episode, McCoy saw fit to let Kirk know that he was a doctor, not a brick-layer. It's worth noting that an earlier episode, “The Corbomite Maneuver," had him asking Capt. Kirk, “What am I, a doctor or a moon-shuttle conductor?” but it wasn't until much later in the season that we got the full line that would later be heard in just about every subsequent series, as well as the Star Trek films. The line even made it into J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot, with Karl Urban (as McCoy) exclaiming, “I'm a doctor, not a physicist!”

5. "Make It So"

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's signature line was a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation from the very start, with actor Patrick Stewart uttering what would become his character's most memorable catchphrase in the pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint.” The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry himself, so it's likely that he wrote the line for Picard, though the phrase has been in use for quite a while in military circles as a way to tell someone to proceed with a command.

6. "To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before..."

The infinitive-splitting opening narration for each episode of Star Trek: The Original Series (with the exception of the pilot episodes) was famously recited by William Shatner, but the actual origins of the line are uncertain at best. Some reports suggest that it was inspired by a 1958 White House press booklet promoting the space program, though some have speculated that it came from a statement made by explorer James Cook following an expedition to Newfoundland. Writer Samuel Peeples, who authored the pilot episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” is often credited with the decision to make the phrase such a significant part of the series. The line was eventually repeated—with a few minor tweaks—in each iteration of the series and films.

7. "Khaaannnn!"

Possibly the most meme-friendly line of dialogue ever to come out of the Star Trek universe, this scream of rage originated in (no surprise here) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Left marooned on a dead planet by the evil villain Khan then taunted about his predicament, Kirk let loose with a primal roar—and the rest was viral-video history.

8. "I'm Givin' Her All She's Got, Captain!"

Much like “Beam me up, Scotty,” this famous catchphrase often associated with USS Enterprise Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in Star Trek: The Original Series was never said in this exact form by actor James Doohan in the series or subsequent films. The closest approximation is a line in the second-season episode “The Changeling,” when Kirk asks Scotty to divert more power to the ship's shields. Scotty responds with, “Giving them all we got.” However, Doohan did utter every word of the famous line as part of a cameo in 1993's Loaded Weapon , in which he turns up as a panicky police officer trying to fix a coffee machine. Similarly, Simon Pegg used the same line “I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!” in 2009's Star Trek reboot, in which he plays a young Montgomery Scott.

9. "Nuclear Wessels"

Russian crew member Pavel Andreievich Chekov's inability to pronounce the letter “V” became a recurring joke after the character was introduced in the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series as the ship's navigator. While it made for some funny moments throughout the series and subsequent movies, one of the most memorable pronunciation gaffes occurred during Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , when Chekov begins asking passers-by in 1980s San Francisco where he can find “nuclear wessels.” Even though Walter Koenig had been playing the character for almost 20 years before The Voyage Home hit theaters, the two-word line soon became indelibly connected with his portrayal of the character.

10. "Resistance Is Futile"

This famous line was first uttered by robotic aliens The Borg in the epic third-season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation , titled “Best of Both Worlds, Part 1.” Not only did the 1990 episode offer up one of the greatest cliffhangers in television history, but it also coined a phrase that would live forever in the nightmares of fans—mainly because it was recycled for use in countless other series and films down the road.

11. "Set Phasers To Stun"

It was established early on in Star Trek: The Original Series that the phasers used by the crew of USS Enterprise had a “stun” setting (as mentioned in “The Man Trap” episode), and both Kirk and Spock often found themselves instructing their crewmates to use the non-lethal capabilities of their standard-issue weapons. However, it wasn't until the second season of Star Trek: The Animated Series that we first heard Kirk issue the command “Set phasers to stun.” The line eventually became an oft-repeated order in subsequent series, turning up in both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation , as well as many of the movies (including 2009's reboot).

This article originally appeared in 2013.

Advertisement

Supported by

Original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise Model Is Found After Being Missing for Decades

The 33-inch model surfaced on eBay after disappearing around 1979. An auction house is giving it to the son of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.”

• Share full article

By Emily Schmall

The first model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the starship that appeared in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series , has been returned to Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of the series, decades after it went missing.

“After a long journey, she’s home,” Mr. Roddenberry wrote on social media on Thursday.

For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed.

“Red alert,” someone in an online costume and prop-making forum wrote, linking to the listing.

Mr. Roddenberry’s father, Gene Roddenberry, created the television series, which first aired in 1966 and ran for three seasons. It spawned numerous spinoffs, several films and a franchise that has included conventions and legions of devoted fans with an avid interest in memorabilia.

The seller of the model was bombarded with inquiries and quickly took the listing down.

The seller contacted Heritage Auctions to authenticate it, the auction house’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said on Saturday. As soon as the seller, who said he had found it in a storage unit, brought it to the auction house’s office in Beverly Hills, Calif., Mr. Maddalena said he knew it was real.

“That’s when I reached out to Rod to say, ‘We’ve got this. This is it,’” he said, adding that the model was being transferred to Mr. Roddenberry.

Mr. Roddenberry, who is known as Rod, said on Saturday that he would restore the model and seek to have it displayed in a museum or other institution. He said reclaiming the item had only piqued his interest in the circumstances about its disappearance.

“Whoever borrowed it or misplaced it or lost it, something happened somewhere,” he said. “Where’s it been?”

It was unclear how the model ended up in the storage unit and who had it before its discovery.

The original U.S.S. Enterprise, a 33-inch model, was mostly made of solid wood by Richard C. Datin, a model maker for the Howard Anderson Company, a special-effects company that created the opening credits for some of the 20th century’s biggest TV shows .

An enlarged 11-foot model was used in subsequent “Star Trek” television episodes, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , where it was donated by Paramount Studios in 1974.

Mr. Roddenberry, who said he gave the seller a “reward” for its recovery but did not disclose the terms, assembled a group of “Star Trek” production veterans, model makers and restoration specialists in Beverly Hills to authenticate the find.

The group included a “Star Trek” art supervisor, Michael Okuda, and his wife, Denise, an artist on “Star Trek” television series and films, and Gary Kerr, a “Trek x-pert” who served as technical consultant for the Smithsonian during a 2016 restoration of the 11-foot model.

“We spent at least an hour photographing it, inspecting the paint, inspecting the dirt, looking under the base, the patina on the stem, the grain in the wood,” Mr. Roddenberry said.

“It was a unanimous ‘This is 100 percent the one,’” he said.

Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 , kept the original model, which appeared in the show’s opening credits and pilot episode, on his desk.

Mr. Kerr compared the model to 1960s photos he had of the model on Mr. Roddenberry’s desk.

“The wood grain matched exactly, so that was it,” he said on Saturday.

The model went missing after Mr. Roddenberry lent it to the makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979, Mr. Maddalena said.

“This is a major discovery,” he said, likening the model to the ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” a prop that was stolen in 2005 and recovered by the F.B.I. in 2018, and that Heritage Auctions is selling.

While the slippers represent hope, he said, the starship Enterprise model “represents dreams.”

“It’s a portal to what could be,” he said.

Emily Schmall covers breaking news and feature stories and is based in Chicago. More about Emily Schmall

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell speak about how “Anyone but You” beat the rom-com odds. Here are their takeaways after the film , debuting on Netflix, went from box office miss to runaway hit.

The vampire ballerina in the new movie “Abigail” has a long pop culture lineage . She and her sisters are obsessed, tormented and likely to cause harm.

In a joint interview, the actors Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough discuss “Under the Bridge,” their new true-crime series  based on a teenager’s brutal killing in British Columbia.

The movie “Civil War” has tapped into a dark set of national angst . In polls and in interviews, a segment of voters say they fear the country’s divides may lead to actual, not just rhetorical, battles.

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage

The first model of the USS Enterprise is displayed at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, shake hands over the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at the Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, view the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

• Copy Link copied

DALLAS (AP) — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing.

The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. Last weekend, the auction house facilitated the model’s return.

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he’s thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70.

“This is not going home to adorn my shelves,” Roddenberry said. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”

AP AUDIO: Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage.

AP correspondent Margie Szaroleta reports on the return of the original model of the USS Enterprise from the TV show “Star Trek.”

Heritage’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said the auction house was contacted by people who said they’d discovered it a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”

They reached out to Roddenberry, who said he appreciates that everyone involved agreed returning the model was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t go into details on the agreement reached but said “I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”

Maddalena said the model vanished in the 1970s after Gene Roddenberry loaned it to makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979.

“No one knew what happened to it,” Rod Roddenberry said.

The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in the show’s original pilot episode as well as the opening credits of the resulting TV series, and was the prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version featured in the series’ episodes. The larger model is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The original “Star Trek” television series, which aired in the late 1960s, kicked off an ever-expanding multiverse of cultural phenomena, with TV and movie spinoffs and conventions where a fanbase of zealous and devoted Trekkies can’t get enough of memorabilia.

This USS Enterprise model would easily sell for more than $1 million at auction, but really “it’s priceless,” Maddalena said.

“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he said. “It is truly a cultural icon.”

Roddenberry, who was just a young boy when the model went missing, said he has spotty memories of it, “almost a deja vu.” He said it wasn’t something he’d thought much about until people began contacting him after it appeared on eBay.

“I don’t think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he said.

He said he has no idea if there was something nefarious behind the disappearance all those decades ago or if it was just mistakenly lost, but it would be interesting to find out more about what happened.

“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” Roddenberry said.

Thankfully, he said, the discovery has cleared up one rumor: That it was destroyed because as a young boy, he’d thrown it into a pool.

“Finally I’m vindicated after all these years,” he said with a laugh.

• April 28, 2024 | Interview: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Writer Carlos Cisco On Unmasking The Breen And Revisiting The ISS Enterprise
• April 26, 2024 | Michael Dorn Wanted Armin Shimerman To Play The Ferengi That Worf Killed In Star Trek Picard
• April 26, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Gets To Know The Breen In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ 505, “Mirrors”
• April 25, 2024 | Prep Begins For ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Finale; Cast And Directors Share BTS Images
• April 25, 2024 | Jonathan Frakes Sees Opportunities With Streaming Star Trek Movies, Weighs In On “Filler Episodes”

Prep Begins For ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Finale; Cast And Directors Share BTS Images

| April 25, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 15 comments so far

Work on the third season of  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  continues to move swiftly in Toronto and looks to be set to wrap up next month. We have some fun bits from the set shared by the cast and a couple of directors, as well as some details on the production.

2 more episodes to go

First up, a selfie from director Jordan Canning, who previously directed the season 2 episode “Charades.” The image posted earlier this week shows the director with Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn and has the message, “Always happy to be the redshirt between these two.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jordan Canning (@jjhcanning)

TrekMovie has confirmed that Canning directed episode 8, which has wrapped. Filming for episode 9 has already begun, with Andrew Coutts directing. This will be the directorial debut for Coutts, a co-producer and editor on the show. The 10th and final episode of the season will be directed by Maja Vrvilo, a Paramount+ Trek veteran who has directed episodes of Discovery , Picard , and Strange New Worlds . Earlier this week, she posted an image of her office door, indicated prep work for her episode had already begun.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Maja Vrvilo (@majavrvilo)

Anson has a challenge for cosplayers

There have also been a couple of fun recent social media updates from the cast. First up, Anson Mount posted on Twitter/X that season 3 will require cosplayers to bring their “A-game” as he shared some creative fan costumes.

I will say this about season 3 of #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds : Cos-players, you better be ready to bring your A-game. #Cosplay @StarTrek @StarTrekOnPPlus pic.twitter.com/mZ9gMmIhsL — Anson Mount 🖖 (@ansonmount) April 16, 2024

One new look for cosplayers to try is an armed Nurse Chapel, as seen in this short video from Jess Bush showing off her phaser holster.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jess Bush (@onejessa)

Finally, on the day of the big eclipse, some of the Strange New Worlds team took a moment to check it out. Bush shared an Instagram story with herself and co-star Melissa Navia rocking their eclipse glasses. (They had 90% totality in Toronto.)

Last week brought big news for Strange New Worlds: It’s been renewed for a fourth season. Paramount+ recently confirmed season 3 will debut in 2025.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

Related Articles

All Access Star Trek Podcast , Discovery , Lower Decks , Star Trek Origin Movie , Strange New Worlds

Podcast: All Access Faces The Strange On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

Strange New Worlds

Actor Talks “Authentic” Scotty On ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’; Season 3 Production Passes Milestone

Lower Decks , Strange New Worlds

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ To End With Season 5

Awards , Strange New Worlds

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Picks Up Two Hugo Award Nominations

I LOVE holodeck dude in cosplay!

I’m curious how long their entire season shooting period actually is.

Usually 5 to 6 months. This one started just before Christmas.

I know I’ll end up watching it, but I’m just not excited for the next season. Season 2 was all over the place, in my opinion. For every episode like Those Old Scientists or Ad Astra Per Aspera, there was rubbish like The Broken Circle and Under the Cloak of War and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I like the cast, but the quality isn’t there- and for all the talk of “big swings” and pushing the envelope- Season 2 was almost painfully generic.

Same here. I’ll be tuning in, but it’s not up there on my ‘must-see right away’ list. I feel like overall, the storytelling floundered during S2, legacy characters written badly, and a distinct corny popcorn feel to it. Both Spock and Pike were reduced to bumbling sidekicks. Hoping S3 has a bit more gravitas to it. Like you said, not the fault of the cast. All blame goes back to the writer’s room. I’m more than happy to consider this show as existing in its own separate timeline, as has been confirmed.

I still can’t get over how *boring* the finale was. It felt like it went on for hours and yet nothing actually happened besides a super-quick and appallingly shot fight in zero-g. Season Two really dropped the ball.

I agree. I don’t even remember what happened in the finale, except Pike at the end hesitating like a scared junior officer when the situation called for fast decisive action. As for the season in general, it feels empty, like nothing really happens in the episodes. I hate the way they turned Spock into a moron. There are better ways if the writers wanted to put some humor in… I’m sure the 12 year olds found it funny but adults are watching too…

They seem to be testing the water for the Academy show with teen romances also. Spock, Chapel / La’an, Kirk and Pike, Batel were all shallow romances and just really boring that took up way too much time in the season. They seriously need to get back to writing some good sci fi stories or this show will go down as one of the worse Star Trek series for me. It seems more of a comedy starship show than the Orville at times. And season 1 had so much promise as well.

The SNW writers room has a chalk board titled Gimmick Board only they misspelt it Big Swing Board. Hopefully they can’t destroy Spock’s character anymore as they have already scraped the bottom of the barrel with their writing of his character.

So relieved I’m not the only one who felt this way. I hear “game changer” and “big swing” and I think “great, they’re effing with my show again to bring in the non-Trek fans”!

Yes, to them “big swing” means having the characters do things completely out of character and turning Star Trek into a Broadway play. Sure the musical was original and unexpected, but really out of place, and I will never be able to get the K-Pop Klingons out of my head.

I didn’t mind the musical episode (probably because I love musicals!) but on the whole, the season felt soulless and devoid of anything interesting to say (outside of Ad Astra Per Aspera). It’s as though the entire season was written by committee and was deathly afraid of offending the fandom by doing anything even slightly controversial.

I’ve had this feeling since the first season. Anson Mount is a wonderful lead, but they’ve completed destroyed the character that we got to know in Season 2 of Discovery. And they need to do something with Spock besides him being a complete and utter pig to women.

I’m absolutely giddy for this next season. Season two was fantastic and I cannot wait for this next season.

I really wish studios would get it together. They used to be able to turn out twice the number of eps or sometimes more every year without year-long pauses between seasons.

• Starfleet command personnel
• Starfleet flag officers

Alynna Nechayev

• View history

Alynna Nechayev was a Human Starfleet flag officer during the late- 24th century . She spent much of the 2360s and early 2370s dealing with issues near the Cardassian border . Nechayev held a no-nonsense attitude and clashed with notable Starfleet commanding officers, like Jean-Luc Picard and Benjamin Sisko . ( TNG : " Chain Of Command, Part I ", " Journey's End ", " Preemptive Strike "; DS9 : " The Maquis, Part II ")

• 1 Personal life
• 3 Simulation
• 4 Memorable quotes
• 5.1 Appearances
• 5.2 Background information
• 5.3 Apocrypha
• 5.4 External links

Personal life [ ]

Nechayev had a particular fondness for Bularian canapés , though she thought them fattening. ( TNG : " Journey's End ", " Preemptive Strike ")

Nechayev was a significant figure in Starfleet's dealings with the Cardassian Union and a fierce advocate of Federation security. She was Captain Jean-Luc Picard 's direct superior, but her working relationship with him was poor.

In 2369 , while serving as a Vice Admiral , she ordered Picard to relinquish command of the USS Enterprise -D to Captain Edward Jellico , the latter having experience with Cardassians in the past and having worked to establish the original armistice ending the Federation-Cardassian War . She assigned Picard to a special operation to infiltrate a Cardassian installation on Celtris III . After Jellico's negotiations with Gul Lemec worsened, she authorized his actions against the Cardassian warships in the McAllister C-5 Nebula , at the risk of provoking open war and abandoning Picard. ( TNG : " Chain Of Command, Part I ", " Chain Of Command, Part II ")

Later that year, Nechayev paid another visit to the Enterprise -D. Nechayev believed that Picard was too soft-handed in his dealings with Federation adversaries. She cited in particular his refusal to use Hugh as a carrier to introduce an invasive program into the Borg Collective . When she commanded the Starfleet task forces assembled in response to attacks by the rogue Borg led by Lore , she ordered Picard to deploy the program should another opportunity avail itself. Her flagship at the time was the USS Gorkon . ( TNG : " Descent ")

Nechayev aboard the Enterprise -D in 2370

Nechayev was promoted to the rank of fleet admiral in the year 2370 , during which time she paid a third visit to the Enterprise -D. Picard tried making amends by contacting the Admiral's aide Commander Wrightwell to find about her fondness of Bularian canapés, which he then offered her in an attempt to help her feel welcome aboard the Enterprise . However, his objections to her order removing the Native American colonists from the Dorvan V colony in the Demilitarized Zone left tension between the two. ( TNG : " Journey's End ")

During this year, she also played a role in the Federation-Cardassian Treaty , and subsequently oversaw Starfleet's response to the Maquis insurrection following Gul Dukat 's kidnapping. Though she understood, and sympathized with, the Maquis position, she was committed to preserving the Federation's peace with the Cardassians despite Central Command arming their colonists covertly. As part of her efforts, she requested Ro Laren 's participation in an undercover mission to infiltrate the Maquis – but this backfired on her when Ro joined the Maquis instead. ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part II "; TNG : " Preemptive Strike ")

In 2371 , when the crew of Deep Space 9 had recovered a Jem'Hadar youth , and Odo opted to return him to the Dominion rather than to hand them over to the incoming USS Constellation , Sisko justified the change of plans by stating that while Admiral Nechayev would not have liked it, " I would've had to kill the boy to keep him here. " ( DS9 : " The Abandoned ")

Simulation [ ]

Dominion simulation of Nechayev

Nechayev was used in a simulation performed by the Vorta Borath to investigate possible reactions of Benjamin Sisko , Jadzia Dax , Miles O'Brien , Julian Bashir and Sub-Commander T'Rul to an increased Dominion presence in the Alpha Quadrant in 2371 . In this simulation, Nechayev informed Sisko that Deep Space 9 was being handed over to the Dominion, an agreement to which the Bajorans strongly objected. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ")

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Admiral, with all due respect, it's not necessary to give Captain Jellico command of the Enterprise just to conduct a negotiation. " " I disagree. The Enterprise will be in a dangerous situation and I want someone on the bridge who has a great deal of experience with the Cardassians. No offense, commander, but that's not you. "

" Your priority is to safeguard the lives of Federation citizens, not to wrestle with your conscience. "

" Granted, but to go to them now after twenty years later and ask them to leave what is now their home. " " I made that same argument with the Federation Council. But it took three years to negotiate this treaty. Some concessions had to be made, and this is one of them. "

" Evek manages to make the Cardassians sound like helpless sheep being preyed on by Federation wolves. "

" The Maquis are a bunch of irresponsible hotheads. "

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Chain Of Command, Part I "
• " Descent "
• " Journey's End "
• " Preemptive Strike "
• " The Maquis, Part II "
• " The Search, Part II " (simulation only)

Background information [ ]

Nechayev was played by Natalia Nogulich . She wore the rank insignia of a vice admiral in all of her appearances.

According to the final draft script for "Chain of Command, Part I", the pronunciation for Alynna was "al-EE-ah-na". In the first draft script she was called Vice-Admiral Cooper.

There were two spellings for her last name. The first spelling of her last name, Nechayev ("Neh-che-yev"), was found in the scripts for "Chain of Command, Part I", "Descent, Part I", "Preemptive Strike", StarTrek.com , and the Star Trek Encyclopedia  (3rd ed., p. 317). [1] [2] The second spelling of her last name, Necheyev ("neh-CHAY-ev"), was found in the scripts for "Journey's End", "The Maquis, Part II", "The Search, Part II", and "Fascination". [3]

In her first on-screen appearance, the script for "Chain of Command, Part I" describes Nechayev as, " a tall graceful woman in her late fifties, with a dark complexion. She charges into the room, her every movement emphasizing urgency. " This would put her birth year at some point during the 2310s . [4]

In an interview with SubspaceCommunique.com, Nogulich revealed she was given the part of Nechayev after interviewing for two different roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation . Though she was unsuccessful in the auditions, the producers were impressed by her work and later offered her the role of Nechayev. As Nogulich recalled, " They liked my work, they seemed interested in me, but they said I wasn't quite right for that particular role, or whatever it was. […] And then I went in the second time for something else, and it also wasn't a complete fit. But again, they were clearly interested in having me be, you know… when they ask you back to audition more than once, it's a sign that they're appreciative of your work. […] So anyway, finally, the third time, my agent said, you know, you're going for this role which will probably recur and it's a very strong part… and they had actually gotten feedback about me from the other roles, I was too strong for whatever the other roles were. So this one is a really strong character and you can go for it and they seem to think it's a good match for you. So, I really dug my teeth in for the audition and worked very hard on it, and went in very prepared. It just felt great when I did it. It felt like I nailed it and indeed, what was a day later, or later that day, I'm not sure, I got the call from my agent that I was going to do it. And then I ended up doing another, and another, and another. " [5]

Nogulich came to believe that, had The Next Generation gone into another season, her character would have been developed even more with Picard so that their relationship was less adversarial. Looking back on playing Nechayev, she recalled, " It was a perfect fit. I mean, I have a Slavic background, she had a Slavic name. I do tend to play strong characters. I'm a character actor and that was a good fit. " [6] [7]

When playing Nechayev, Nogulich was influenced by the experiences of her family, many of whom had served in the military. She drew particular influence from her father, who had served in World War II and taken part in the Normandy invasion, and her grandfather, a Medal of Honor recipient in his own right. " So having this background of, you know, military, " Nogulich explained, " I did look to that, what I had learned and observed from stories from them, and then… I realized what she was saying and realized this woman, Nechayev, was passionate about principle. She really believed in what she was saying was the absolute best thing for the Federation. And I got from her, like most leaders, she had to make hard decisions that were not popular. She couldn't afford to be the humanitarian that Picard was. She couldn't afford to say, 'well yeah, maybe the Borg are people too and we should be nice to them', you know. They were our enemies and she needed to the be the one who said, 'next time, you have an opportunity to destroy them, you will do it'. […] So, I guess when you ask me who historically… I really look to my dad and my grandfather. " [8]

In a 2013 interview with Ellis Martin, Nogulich recalled a US Marine approaching her during the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas and telling her of generals who watched her performance as Nechayev in order to get an idea of how to speak to their subordinates. Though she was flattered by the comment, Nogulich commented, " It all goes back to the writing, I have to bow my head to that. Because they wrote a great character. And they wrote worthy conflict between me and Captain Picard. And also between me and Captain Sisko – Avery Brooks . […] And perhaps it was fueled by the fact I was a woman, I don't know. " [9]

Writer Ronald D. Moore decided to utilize Nechayev as a recurring character due to both continuity of the Maquis arc, and as a reflection on Nogulich's work. In "Journey's End", Moore initially wrote about Nechayev as resisting Picard's overtures of détente, but he later agreed with Michael Piller that Picard could actually get through to her. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (1st ed., p. 291))

Director David Livingston later mirrored these remarks, commenting, " You want to have the opportunity for crossover and continuity. It's fun to do that with a character when you find somebody that's good in the part, like Evek and Admiral Nechayev. The audience enjoys it. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 134))

In a scene cut from " Fascination ", Lwaxana Troi mentions that Nechayev was a friend of hers, considering her " the sister she never had. " ( [10] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 194))

Apocrypha [ ]

Nechayev as she appears in An Inconvenient Truth

Nechayev on the cover of The Future Begins eBook

Nechayev as she appears in the Customizable Card Game

The Pocket TNG novel The Genesis Wave, Book 3 gives her year of birth during the mid- 2300s . In the first book of the series , Nechayev is appointed lead Starfleet officer in the Genesis Wave Crisis, personally overseeing the evacuation of many planets. With the crew of the USS Enterprise , she is able to prevent the wave from striking Earth. However, her face was temporarily disfigured when she is on a planet hit by the wave. Although protected she is given newly mutagenic soil which heals her burns and saves her life, giving an almost two-face effect on her appearance. Nechayev later undergoes surgery to restore her face to normal.

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between comic An Inconvenient Truth , Nechayev enters Starfleet Academy determined to prove herself. Years later, Academy groundskeeper Boothby describes her as having " a chip on her shoulder the size of Jupiter , so ready to prove a beautiful woman could be a starship captain. " Later in the story, Nechayev becomes involved in a conspiracy within Starfleet, which had been using discoveries from the logs of Starfleet vessels to create weapons and forward a political agenda in the Alpha Quadrant. However, she is not totally compliant with the conspiracy – while she promised to "handle Picard," she saves his life when an assassin within the conspiracy tries to kill him, and in the process beams the Captain into the conspirator's base of operations.

Nechayev also appears in the Pocket DS9 novel Day of the Vipers , which states that, by 2328 , Nechayev was a lieutenant in Starfleet Intelligence . That year, based on intelligence from Bajoran dissident Keeve Falor, she traveled to Bajor disguised as a Bajoran under the name Nechen Alla, to investigate claims that the Cardassian Union was planning to occupy the planet. With her partner Gwen Jones, she was able to discover evidence of these plans, but upon returning with the intelligence to the USS Gettysburg , learned Starfleet intended to treat the matter as an internal political affair. Nechayev later informed Bajoran refugee Darrah Mace that she would do all she could to help the Bajorans resist the Cardassians.

According to the Pocket TNG novel Rogue Saucer , by 2342 , Nechayev had achieved the rank of commander and was assigned to lead a small team on the Ganymede colony. This is contradicted in the novel A Time to Be Born , which states Nechayev had already achieved the rank of Rear Admiral by 2341 . In this story, Nechayev meets with Data , who was hoping to join Starfleet and allowes him to skip the Academy entrance exams and to move to an accelerated track with credit for individual study. While in A Time to Heal , Admiral Nechayev is one of five Starfleet admirals who, along with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Ambassador Lagan Serra, decide the fate of Federation President Min Zife after the disastrous Tezwan affair in 2379 .

Furthermore, in Rogue Saucer , Admiral Nechayev orders Captain Picard to test a new Galaxy -class saucer section while the Enterprise 's saucer section undergoes repairs. She accompanies the Enterprise crew during these tests and later confronts the Maquis when they attempted to hijack the saucer section, subsequently crash landing it in the ocean of a nearby planet where it is destroyed.

The Star Trek: New Frontier novel House of Cards states that, by the early 2360s, Nechayev had attained the rank of Vice Admiral and oversaw operations at Starfleet Intelligence. In 2370, she assigns Mackenzie Calhoun to do undercover work on the frontier, after Calhoun resigns from Starfleet. She continues to give him new assignments, but after a few years, becomes worried that he is becoming corrupted by the nature of his work. In 2373, Nechayev controls key aspects of Starfleet's response to the collapse of the Thallonian Empire. After being convinced by Captain Picard, Commander Riker, and Ambassador Spock, she decides that the best course of action is to send a Starfleet vessel, the Excalibur , into Sector 221-G to observe the situation and offer humanitarian assistance. She asks Picard to retrieve Mackenzie Calhoun from his operative work to command the Excalibur .

This is followed up in the Double Helix novel Double or Nothing , in which Nechayev, monitoring the Double Helix incident, installs Commander Riker as the field captain of the Excalibur , pulling Captain Calhoun from the ship and sending him on another mission related to the Double Helix through her connections at Starfleet Intelligence.

She later appears in the Star Trek: Terok Nor book Dawn of the Eagles , when she is contacted by Elias Vaughn regarding a Cardassian informant, Gaten Russol, who wants to give information about the occupation of Bajor. She reassigns Vaughn to Starbase 375 so that he could make contact with Russol, but gather only information relating to the Federation and not discuss Bajor. This takes place in the year 2365 .

The Strange New Worlds II short story Seventh Heaven reveals that Nechayev's orders to destroy the Borg at the next available opportunity were disseminated to all Starfleet commanders.

In the The Brave and the Bold, Book Two novella The Third Artifact , Nechayev becomes a point-person for issues arising between Federation expatriates and Cardassian forces in the early 2370s.

In the Invasion! novel Time's Enemy , Nechayev participates in a subspace conference with Admirals Judith Hayman, Hajime Shoji and Kirshbaum, Captain Benjamin Sisko and Professor T'Kreng of the Vulcan Science Academy about a possible Fury invasion. The other purpose of the discussion is the discovery of the USS Defiant frozen in Earth's Oort cloud . Nechayev suggestes that the present Defiant be kept in drydock at Deep Space 9 until the future version disappears. This story takes place in 2371.

Nechayev briefly appears in the Deep Space Nine novel Hollow Men , in which she engages in a heated debate on the Dominion War with Tomas Roeder in a Federation News Service broadcast, and according to the Pocket TNG novel Before Dishonor , she witnesses the destruction of Pluto by a Borg supercube from Starfleet Command on Earth.

In Greater than the Sum , Nechayev informs the crew of the Enterprise that a Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant has begun in early- 2381 . This story is continued in the Star Trek: Destiny novels Gods of Night , Mere Mortals , and Lost Souls , in which Nechayev plays a prominent role.

The SCE eBook Progress states that when Nechayev reached the rank of Captain, she was given command of the USS Boudicca . Her first officer on that ship was Commander David Gold. In the follow-up book The Future Begins , a displaced Captain Montgomery Scott encounters Admiral Nechayev on the pleasure planet Risa in 2375.

Nechayev is also available as a commanding officer in the Federation campaign of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars and has a card in both editions of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game .

External links [ ]

• Alynna Nechayev at StarTrek.com
• Alynna Nechayev at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

The long lost original model of the USS Enterprise has been returned

The model, in the opening credits of Star Trek , had been missing since the 1970s. It popped up on eBay last fall. The seller helped facilitate its return to the family of the creator of Star Trek .

(SOUNDBITE OF ALEXANDER COURAGE'S "THEME FROM STAR TREK")

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Leila Fadel.

The long-lost original model of the USS Enterprise, the one that could be seen in the opening credits of the TV show "Star Trek," has been returned. Missing since the 1970s, the model popped up on eBay last fall. The seller eventually took down the item and helped facilitate its return to Rod Roddenberry, the son of the late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, the son, says he now hopes to get the model into a museum for the public to enjoy.

It's MORNING EDITION.

Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery's mirror universe enterprise was cool, but also missed 3 opportunities.

The appearance of the ISS Enterprise was a nice surprise, but Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the Mirror Universe ship.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

• It was a missed opportunity for Mirror Universe legacy characters like Spock or Kirk to make an appearance in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5.
• Burnham's reflection on the ISS Enterprise could have tied back to her time in the Mirror Universe with Georgiou.
• The story of ISS Enterprise's escape from the Mirror Universe teases a powerful rebellion and hope narrative.

Star Trek: Discovery brought back the ISS Enterprise that was introduced in the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Mirror, Mirror," but the show could've done so much more with the Mirror Universe version of Star Trek's most iconic ship. In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Discovery has sent its characters on an intergalactic treasure hunt centuries in the making. In their search for the powerful technology of the Progenitors, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew have already faced numerous trials, and their most recent clue took them to a relic from the 23rd century.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan, Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) must enter interdimensional space in search of the next clue on their quest to find the Progenitors' technology. After Burnham and Booker make it into the wormhole, they find the heavily damaged, but still intact ISS Enterprise. As they search the ship, they discover that refugees used the Enterprise to escape from the brutal Mirror Universe in search of a better life. While it was certainly fascinating to learn more about the ISS Enterprise and its journey, the appearance of the centuries-old ship could have had more of an impact.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

The iss enterprise provided the perfect excuse for a strange new worlds cameo, michael could've found a recording from mirror universe spock or kirk..

As Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker explore the bridge of the ISS Enterprise, Michael gets emotional looking at what would have been her brother, Spock's (Ethan Peck), terminal. While this is a nice moment, it would have been a great opportunity to include a recorded message from Mirror Universe Spock or someone else who was on board the ship. Not only would it have been fun to see Ethan Peck with Mirror Spock's goatee, but it could have been a nice moment for Michael to see an alternate version of her brother.

It's a missed opportunity that no Star Trek legacy characters made an appearance in "Mirrors."

Whether due to budget constraints or scheduling conflicts, it's a shame that Star Trek: Discovery did not get Ethan Peck or Paul Wesley, who plays Lt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , to make a quick cameo. Seeing the Mirror Universe Captain Kirk would have been a nice way to shout out Star Trek: The Original Series , while also connecting Discovery to Strange New Worlds . Star Trek: Discovery has shown recordings of legacy characters before, such using old footage of Leonard Nimoy's Spock in the Discovery season 3 episode "Unification III", and it's a missed opportunity that no Star Trek legacy characters made an appearance in "Mirrors."

The ISS Enterprise Should've Reminded Burnham Of Her Time In The Mirror Universe With Georgiou

Didn't all of the mirror universe iconography remind burnham of her experiences there.

While Captain Burnham did have a moment of reflection regarding Spock, she never mentioned the time she spent in the Mirror Universe or her connection with Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) . The Mirror Universe played a major role in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, and Burnham spent a fair amount of time there. Michael also grew close to Georgiou after she traveled back with the USS Discovery to Star Trek 's Prime Universe. It stands to reason that Michael would likely have been reminded of her time in the Mirror Universe as she was exploring the ISS Enterprise.

Two of Star Trek's best modern villains, Emperor Georgiou and Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), came from the Mirror Universe. Michelle Yeoh will reprise the role of Georgiou in the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange" revisited several moments from Captain Burnham's past, but didn't touch on the Mirror Universe. Allowing Michael to have a moment of remembrance on the ISS Enterprise would have been a nice connection to season 1 and another way to show how far Burnham has come. Whether or not Burnham has spoken with Book about her experiences in the Mirror Universe, she could have shared a memory of her time with Georgiou. Discovery season 5 already has a lot going on, but they missed out on what could have been a nice moment of reflection for Captain Burnham.

Star Trek 10’s Best Mirror Universe Variants

Star trek should tell the story of the iss enterprise's escape from the mirror universe, discovery teases what could be a powerful story of rebellion and hope..

One of the most interesting aspects of the ISS Enterprise is the story of how the ship ended up in interdimensional space in the first place. After Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) visited the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: The Original Series, he inspired Spock to initiate a series of reforms to prevent the Terran Empire from falling. Unfortunately, the Empire fell anyway, but some people took Spock's ideas to heart and rebelled against the new regime. After "a Kelpian slave turned rebel leader" — aka Mirror Universe Saru (Doug Jones) — told others about the Prime Universe, they began searching for a way to get there.

Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the ISS Enterprise, but at least they turned the former warship into a symbol of hope.

The ISS Enterprise became a lifeboat, as Saru helped refugees steal the ship and take it to the Prime Universe. Book reads their story from a plaque on the wall, but it sounds like a tale that deserves more than a few sentences of dialogue. The story of a group of rebels who steal the Enterprise, ride it into another universe, and then have to adapt to an entirely different way of life would make a great movie or mini-series. Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the ISS Enterprise, but at least they turned the former warship into a symbol of hope.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery